Choosing an Installation Image

You may wish to use a pre-release images, rather than the official Arch Linux images. The 2010.05 image may not contain the necessary drivers for the Atheros Ethernet or Broadcom Wireless found on certain Aspire One PCs, such as the D255e.

Preparation prior to installing Arch Linux

Press F12 at BIOS POST or change boot order with F2 to select your installation method. (On some systems, F12 might not be enabled by default, and you must hit F2 to enter the BIOS and enable it).

To boot off the USB stick, choose USB HDD as the boot device.

It is recommended to permanently add a SD(HC) card into the left SD card reader to extend storage space.

Before running /arch/setup mount your SD card to be visible to the installer.

Recommended partition schemes

/dev/sda1 all 8GB on the SSD for /, formatted as ext4

/dev/mmcblk0p1 all space on the extensional left side SD(HC) card for /home

the SD card needs a journaling file system, like ext4 or xfs

No swap at all, unless you want hibernation. Having swap wears the disk somewhat more.

File-systems

There is a limit in how many times you can write to any disk, SSD or a regular HDD. For SSD, you can write about 2 GB a day and it should last for about 3 years. Regular usage is probably less than this, hence it should last several more years. All disks will wear out eventually, so backup often. This goes for both SSD and HDDs.

In general, having data on a disk should be considered as safe as written notes on a wet paper napkin.

Solid state drives are made of flash memory, they are fast at reading but slow at writing data.

Journaled filesystem writes in a journal what it is modifying in the filesystem, so you will get more writes into the SSD, that will take your write count up as a bit of overhead for each write you will do, but will give you filesystem consistency if something as gone wrong. Same thing goes for the HDD-version.

You can choose a journaled filesystem (like ext4 or xfs) or a non journaled one (like ext2).
The choice mainly depends on how important it is to you that all files are okay if you suddenly turn off the computer, compared to slightly less wear and tear over the years, and slightly more speed on disk operations.

The choice depends on your demands. Some people had trouble using ext2 with the SD-card (the filesystem was corrupted) and switched to XFS instead, with great success.

In general, ext4 is a good choice for disks and XFS works well for SD-cards that stay in the slot.

XFS over ext2/ext4 also have the added benefit of not having to wait for disk-checks every Nth boot, which can be a huge annoyance if you are about to hold a presentation.

Choosing maximum lifetime, or data integrity

For a longer life for your disk, take care to:

Not use a journaling file system

Not use a swap partition (unless you want to be able to hibernate)

Edit your new installation fstab to mount the partitions as "noatime", which will mean better performance and longer life by not writing file access times. "relatime" is an alternative solution. See this LWN article for more information.

Not log errors or messages

If, on the other hand, data integrity is more important, use EXT4, XFS or another journaled filesystem instead.

A swap partition may be preferable if you use a browser, or other memory intensive application, that easily makes the system run out of memory. This will use the disk somewhat more, but may prevent crashes. Check the system status with an application like htop. If you find out you need one, it's easy to create a large file and use that as a swap partition.

Mounting Options

There are some tweaks you can employ in order to get somewhat better performance from your file systems:

EXT4:

defaults,noatime

XFS:

defaults,noatime

EXT3:

defaults,noatime,errors=remount-ro,commit=15

EXT2:

defaults,noatime,errors=remount-ro

These are to be added to your filesystem mount tab file located under /etc/fstab.
As example a mount line for the root directory:

/dev/sda1 / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1

It's also possible to add the "discard" mount option.

Another tweak is to mount each log directory into a memory filesystem (stores everything only into RAM) so you can skip more write counts out of our SSD but suitable also for HDD. These log files will be then deleted each time the system is rebooted.

Warning: The temporary folders listed above will delete all files in those folders after each reboot. You may omit the last three lines, but have increased write access to the SSD.

Warning: It has been reported that the stock kernel is causing partition table corruption on the SD card when you resume from a suspend. Corrupted /home. Someone on the forum suggested that you need a kernel with CONFIG_MMC_UNSAFE_RESUME set to prevent this from happening. This solution did not work for some people, while using XFS instead of ext2 for /home worked just fine.

Tweaks

Put zramswap in the DAEMONS array in /etc/rc.conf to use the zram module that may improve performance. This requires zramswapAUR and a recent kernel.

Network

WLAN

AA1 wireless device is a rather new Atheros wireless chip not supported by Linux kernel until version 2.6.27. Before that an external module was required to be compiled and installed named madwifi.

Now you need to reset the wireless driver upon suspend/resume so you need to create a rule for pm-utils to reload the module. This is done by creating a new file under /etc/pm/config.d/ named modules with:

From the output, you can see that the name of the wireless interface device is wlp3s0. Remember this device name!

Now scan the wireless network for access points:

# iw wlp3s0 scan | grep SSID

If you can see a list of SSID's, then you know your wireless device is working and ready to connect to one of the networks. You may prefer a user friendly tool like nm-applet (included in the network-manager-applet package) for typing in passwords and confirming that a connection has been made. Once the connection is set up, nm-applet is not needed, only the NetworkManager service.

ath9k and acer_wmi

Some people have reported conflicts between the ath9k and acer_wmi drivers, resulting in the wireless card not functioning. Blacklisting acer_wmi seems to resolve the issue.

LAN

Use module r8169 for eth0 support with kernel version >=2.6.26.

If you have problems with r8169 (unlikely), try r8101.

Aspire One D250/D255e LAN

With Archlinux 2010.05 the installation did not work on Aspire One D250/D255. The modules were not available for either the Atheros LAN card or the Broadcom Wireless. To get the LAN working, try installing a newer developer image of Arch.

Alternatively, using the instructions above and in the Uvesafb article to set up the console framebuffer, and then installing and configuring the xf86-video-fbdev driver, will provide the full resolution -- backlight brightness control is impossible with this method, however.

For the original Linpus Xorg.conf (if you use this you may want to remove the ServerFlags section - the two entries in it disable the Ctrl-Alt-Backspace and Ctrl-Alt-F* hotkeys) please see Example configurations.

External VGA port

The external VGA port works without further modifications if the externel screen is connected at boot time. If the screen is added later, the VGA port has to be enabled by xrandr. See also section Additional function keys for automating this.

Setting DPI

Very large fonts may appear in some applications (for example the menu line in Firefox). Setting the DisplaySize in the Monitor section in combination with the NoDDC option in xorg.conf may help:

When using an external screen, the NoDDC option has the effect, that XRandR may no longer be able to determine and use the maximum resolution of the screen. If you have such problems, delete the above lines from xorg.conf. Instead add the following to your ~/.xserverrc:

#!/bin/bash
exec /usr/bin/X -dpi 100

You may also try 75dpi if you can live with small fonts.

You can also try to add the following to your ~/.Xdefaults:

*dpi: 75

Setting a proper framebuffer

There are three options for setting the frame buffer (kernel mode setting, uvesafb, and intelfb). The most modern, thus recommended one is kernel mode setting (KMS). This is also the easiest to implement.

Kernel mode setting (KMS)

uvesafb

This will enable a 1024x600 framebuffer with 32bit color.
Read Uvesafb for details.

Warning: Before you begin, be aware that suspend will most probably not work with Uvesafb. When resuming you will end up with a blank screen.

Using intelfb without an initrd

Another option is to use the intelfb framebuffer. This is an option if you are using the linux-one-dev kernel, or any other kernel where intelfb is compiled in the kernel rather than as a module. It is also a good option if you do not want to use an initrd image on boot (hence using the new grub package below.)

First off install grub2-915resolution from AUR. (This may mean you need to modify the new /boot/grub/grub.cfg, see the wiki page for help)

As an alternative, which may possibly also enable powersaving for the card readers, get the jmb38x_d3e.sh script from the original Linpus install and install it in /usr/local/sbin. Remember to give executable rights.
Note that this script uses bc which you may need to install.

Then add the following line to /etc/rc.local:

/usr/local/sbin/jmb38x_d3e.sh &>/var/log/jmb38x_d3e.log &

You may skip the log output if do not want this. You do not need the pciehp module in /etc/rc.conf if you use this script.

Power management

Enabling CPU frequency scaling

Suspend on lid, shutdown on power button

Some people needed to install the kernel named "linux-one" in order to make this work properly. On the D250 (and possibly others), if the bios has not been updated to the latest (see elsewhere on this page for how to update the bios), then the 'lid' event is broken in the sense that it always reports 'closed' and it will continue to send lid events once triggered (thus blocking out power button events). In short, if you have problems with getting acpi events to work, update your bios.

Customized kernel

It is common to use customized kernels in these machines to avoid the extra load of modules Arch's stock kernel brings. These are ok for the wide general hardware but in this case you have a very specific set of hardware so that you can build a predefined kernel hardware support.

The kernel-netbook package in the AUR provides a custom kernel supporting most netbooks with Intel Atom N270/N280/N450/N550
processors.

There is also a A110L specific kernel package linux-oneAUR[broken link: archived in aur-mirror] on AUR with all necessary modules compiled in kernel. Refer to the Forum for help on this. There may also be binaries of the latest version on the Forum but since these are user submitted packages you should *always* pick the sources and PKGBUILD, inspect them and build them yourself.

The config for this kernel is derived from the original Linpus Kernel config. The main differences from stock arch kernel:

The kernel differs from the stock arch kernel so it can only load Aspire One specific hardware and should not be used in any other hardware;

Faster boot time;

Reduced package size (although the hardware supported by this kernel will be limited to what it has compiled);

Tweaks for better performance on Atom processors;

Some tweaks/workarounds to get hardware work flawlessly (MMC/SD cards for example)

On T.Mondary's site you can also find a precompiled kernel for AAO, in distribution-independent format, but suitable for ArchLinux. This minimal kernel comes with wifi led patches, a coretemp patch, acerhdf and a proper framebuffer with KMS. It can now use ext2 or ext4 (mounting ext4 without a journal is supported since 2.6.29) for the root filesystem, and does not require an initrd.

Tuning tips

SD Storage Expansion

Labeling Partitions

For using both card readers at a time you have to specify which is the one to use as storage expansion and the one to be used a removable storage by setting a label into the filesystem.

Plug only the expansion SD card into the left card reader and make the desired filesystem with one of the following:

XFS:

mkfs.xfs /dev/mmcblk0p1

EXT3

mkfs.ext3 /dev/mmcblk0p1

EXT2

mkfs.ext2 /dev/mmcblk0p1

Then give the filesystem a label:

XFS:

xfs_admin -L "SD_HOME" /dev/mmcblk0p1

EXT3/EXT2:

e2label /dev/mmcblk0p1 "SD_HOME"

Mount expansion as /home

Now that you have an SD card with a defined label, you can mount the SD card at boot. There are two methods for this: either by creating a mount option in /etc/fstab, or by adding a mount command to /etc/rc.local. The ordinary and recommended method for mounting disk at boot time is through /etc/fstab, but as this appears to lead to problems with the SD card reader in the AAO, a second method is listed below to try in case of errors.

Method 1: fstab entry

Define a mount option in /etc/fstabas defined in Mounting Options. Do not forget to change the folder which it is to be mounted on, it should be /home.

If you already have something in your /home folder you need to save a backup in order to upon mounting the SD expansion you have the same files as before so you can try this:

$ tar -cfg /home.tar /home

Now you can mount the device and put the backup there. Remember to put the line in fstab first and back up /home first!

Warning: Back up /home first. Always think twice before pressing return after rm.

Method 2: rc.local entry

Mounting /home on your SD card through fstab occasionally appears to lead to a problem described in this forum thread, where the SD card gives a "FILESYSTEM CHECK FAILED" error during init on alternating boot-ups. This appears to have to do with the slower nature of SD-cards, and the system trying to mount the card before it is fully initialised.

An alternative method for mounting the SD card is adding

( sleep 4; mount /dev/mmcblk0p1 -t xfs -o defaults,noatime /home )&

to /etc/rc.local, and removing the entry of your SD card from /etc/fstab.

This command mounts the SD card with a 4 second delay, assuming you partitioned the card with the xfs filesystem. The ampersand after the command backgrounds the process, allowing the system to continue booting while the card mounts.

Find your SD card's UUID by issuing

$ ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid/

or

# blkid

Regulating the CPU fan

Letting the BIOS regulate the cpu fan results in a noisy monster of a netbook. You can override the default fan settings by using either acerhdf (recommended method) or acerfand (not recommended) based on two scripts.

acerhdf

The acerhdf kernel module regulates the fan in a performant and secure way.

From kernel 2.6.31 on the acerhdf module is provided inside the kernel tree. Therefore it comes precompiled with the linux, linux-one and linux-one-dev packages.

Using the Super key for middle-clicking

When browsing the web, a third mouse button is a great help for opening links in tabs. Unfortunately, there is no third mouse button on the Acer Aspire One.

However, one can configure one of the keys on the keyboard for acting like a third mouse button instead. (The Super key is the one with a picture of a little house, or on models that do not have a little house, the key between the fn and alt).

Using FVWM 2

Add these two lines to your .fvwm/.fvwm2rc (or just add the second line to your favorite startup function):

Reboot and configure the BIOS to boot from the USB stick before the SSD/HDD

Start the BIOS update utility (3310.BAT)

Reboot

Configure the BIOS to start from the SSD/HDD first again

Done

AOD150

The bios upgrades on the acer aspire site for the AOD150 line all want you to run it on windows. Here is how the author avoided it (The author does not understand this subject; she just guessed. Again, you are messing with your BIOS and this is not an officially condoned method, so there is a risk you will brick your netbook. You have been warned.):

Download the latest BIOS from the Acer webpage, for the AOA150 (latest is 3310). Note that this is the incorrect BIOS for your AOD150 model. From this zip file, you will be using everything except the actual BIOS image.

Download the latest BIOS from the Acer webpage, for the AOD150 (latest is 1.09). Note that this is the correct BIOS, but requires windows to use, so you are only going to use the BIOS image from this file.

Unzip the AOA150 zip file to a scratch directory. You may, for instance, get four files: a .bat file, a .fd file, flashit.exe, and a readme.txt. Copy everything but the .fd file onto your usb drive.

Unzip the AOD150 zip file to a scratch directory. It should result in an exe file (KAV10109.exe) and a readme.txt. Now you have to get the .fd file from the .exe.

Run the exe file using wine. It will extract some files, and then show an error from InsydeFlash complaining that it cannot load the drivers. Do not click 'Okay' yet.

Alt-tab to a terminal, and cd into your wine installation's windows temp directory. Mine is $HOME/.wine/drive_c/windows/temp

There should be directory there with the contents of what the exe file extracted. Mine is 7zSe6a.tmp/. If you cannot find it, you can run 'find . -iname InsydeFlash.exe', and whatever directory that file is in is what you want.

Inside that directory should be a file with a .fd extension. Copy this file to your usb drive, alongside the .bat and .exe file you copied before.

You can click 'Okay' and close your wine session now. This will clean up the temp directory, which is why you left it open.

Now cd into your usb drive and edit the .bat file in a text editor of your choice. In it should be a line that calls flashit with one of the arguments being the .fd file for the AOA150. Mine is '3310.fd'. Delete this, and replace it with the name of the file you just copied from the AOD150's installation. The contents of the batch file should now look something like:

flashit KAV10.fd /mc /all /dc

You have now finished prepping your usb drive

Reboot and configure the BIOS to boot from the USB stick before the SSD/HDD

Start the BIOS update utility (3310.BAT)

Reboot

Configure the BIOS to start from the SSD/HDD first again

Done

Note that when the author upgraded her BIOS, resuming from a suspend stopped working (blank screen, no keyboard response). To fix that, she removed the mtrr-related parameters from her kernel command-line in /boot/grub/menu.lst (enable_mtrr_cleanup mtrr_spare_reg_nr=1), which she had added before to fix some register quirks for the intel graphics card.

Using Flashrom

Flashrom can be used to flash the BIOS directly from Linux.
It does not currently seem to support AA1, but it might be worth watching the flashrom-svn package in AUR.
See also: http://www.coreboot.org/Flashrom

Instructions by Acer for AOA110 and AOA150

This routine requires nothing more than that a couple of files are copied to a flash drive, and is confirmed to work on AOA110. In case the link does not work here is an exact quote:

Updating the BIOS will require a USB flash drive to store the BIOS information on during the update. To perform the update to the BIOS:
1. Go here, click on the BIOS tab and download and extract the latest BIOS for the netbook.
2. The files required will be in the Dos_Flash subdirectory.
3. Rename the BIOS file from 3310.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
4. Copy zg5ia32.fd and Flashit.exe to USB flash drive
5. Ensure that the AC adapter is plugged in.
6. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port.
7. Press and Hold down the Fn and the Esc keys together and press the power button.
8. When the unit's power light comes on wait a few seconds and release the Fn and Esc keys.
9. After the keys have been released the power light will start to blink.
10. During the BIOS update process the display will be blank.
11. Let the unit run and after approximately 1 to 7 minutes, the unit should reboot and the BIOS will be updated.
If the unit fails to reboot, or the BIOS was not updated sucessfully, try the steps again. If the problem persists, the netbook may need service.
Note: These instructions are only for the Acer Aspire One AOA110 and the AOA150 netbook series and should not be performed on any other model Acer Aspire One.